[Artichokie]

My LO is 7 mo old and has started enjoying a bit of solids at super time. I had anticipated filling her full of fresh local produce, but we cannot find local organic food. So, instead of locally grown carrots, broccoli and sweet potatoes, we are buying her food imported from California while DH and I feast on the (non organic) local fare.

At some point we are going to have to give her non organic food, either because we want her to experience very fresh food, or even because we might be at a restaurant and want to give her some veggie off our plate.

I'd like to know what ppl's thoughts are on local vs. organic for a small child. She is still bf on demand, of course, so the fact that I am eating local rather than organic means that she is getting some pesticide residual anyway.

Thank you.

 

[Artichokie]

Surely I am not the only one experiencing this dilemma!

 

[mamadelbosque]

I go for local over organic most times. If I can find local organic, awesome. If not I give DS what we eat - period. In the 17 months of his life I have *NEVER* made a special meal or anythign special at all - at most I pull someting out of the fridge. Organic is wonderful, but if you chat with farmers, a lot of them don't spray that much and/or just can't afford the certification to call their stuff 'organic'.

 

[CookieMonsterMommy]

I'd be mindful of the "dirty dozen" foods. (this site also has the least risky dozen). I try to do organic for those, both for myself and ds.

Most other things I try to do local.

Either way, make sure you wash all produce well. I use an organic, fruit based fruit/veggie wash I got from stop and shop for under $3.

It's hard, because on one hand, local tends to have more nutrients and taste better than something that's been shipped in the back of a truck and/or boat for thousands of miles...

...but what good is that if it's laden with harmful chemicals?

ugh

 

[melmel2849]

I'm suprised you're having a problem finding local organic food. Have you talked to the farmers about their practices? Oftentimes small farmers don't want to go through the craziness of becoming certified organic but they manage their land using organic methods. DH and I farm, and though we're not certified organic, our food is organically raised.

Still, I prioritize local over organic, but I'm biased.

 

[Ruthla]

I've never offered my babies different stuff than I fed the rest of the family, unless it was to open a jar of commercial baby food (we didn't use those often, but they have their place, and there are now brands of organic pureed mush.)

 

[Ivan's Mom]

I only give my kids organic and breastmilk for the first year. The second year I start with the incorporating of non-organic and continue with the breastfeeding. If an item is non-organic during the first year I skip it or buy jarred. Ivan loved jarred foods. I am making homemade "mostly" for Matilda, but will give jarred organic if fresh is not available.

My understanding is that the babies have high body fat and the toxins from sprayed foods are stored in fat cells. I am not willing to take that risk. I would rather just buy what I can fresh and add jarred, all organic.

 

[kiwiva]

Depends on the food here. This time of the year, it's mostly local and much of that is organic or spray-free. There are certain foods I won't get at all if they are not organic-the dirty dozen, particularly. I just read an article on Mercola the other day about this topic. You should talk to some farmers at the farmers market and you might be able to find local food that is organic enough for your babe. I don't buy different foods for baby and us though.

 

[Norasmomma]

I'm another who doesn't give DD different stuff, but where I live in WA we have an abundance of local, organic foods. I would ask the farmers what their practices are, I know here in WA there are so many orchards and farms that are transitional so they are growing food organically, but they aren't quite yet there to be certified. I buy stuff from a Mexican man that I don't know for sure if his stuff is o.g., but he grows great produce, so I buy it anyway. I think that much of his stuff is o.g., but he's not certified, most of our local foods are though.

I also really watched DD's consumption of foods when she was first eating and I did give her almost exclusively organics, once she got a little older I have bought some non-og produce, but I figure some produce has got to be better than none. I watch the "dirty-dozen" too.

 

[wantingagirl2b#4]

I got this off of Mercola this morning.... Hope it helps!

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or grow organic:
Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes
Conventionally-grown strawberries, in particular, were found to be highly toxic due to a poisonous blend of pesticides in a previous 2007 EU study as well.
But be VERY careful as the list above is for fruits and vegetables. Non-organic meats have far higher concentrations of pesticides than all of the fruits and vegetables. And the highest concentration of pesticides is actually in non-organic butter.
So if you can only buy one organic food item it should be butter. Next priority would be meats and once those are addressed, you will want to focus on the fruit and vegetable list above.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories in the Guide to Pesticides, the following twelve foods had the lowest pesticide load when conventionally grown. Consequently, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume:
Broccoli
Eggplant
Cabbage
Banana
Kiwi
Asparagus
Sweet peas (frozen)
Mango
Pineapple
Sweet corn (frozen)
Avocado
Onion

 

[andinkra]

When I have to choose between local and organic, I usually opt for organic, as pesticides, etc. are of greater immediate concern to me than issues of sustainability. But as some of the PPs have said, many of the local farmers in my area aren't certified organic, but don't use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. I talk to them individually and buy from them where I feel comfortable with their practices, even if they aren't certified organic.

And then we grow some of our own produce - hauled in 30+ pounds of potatoes this weekend!

 

[maizy]

I choose local farmers market first. Then organic second.

I read Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingslover
I recommend this book if you are pondering our food sources. I also did a study group through the Northwest Earth Watch Institute www.nwei.org on called Menu for the Future and the entire study course asks this question.
Best of luck to you.

 

[MMGerard]

Farmers market first, but do talk to the farmers. Many are "better than organic" (meaning they follow organic practices and more, but can't afford the fees to get certified) but not all are like-minded. This past weekend at the farmers market I talked to a farmer who was using "Round-Up Ready" (genetically modified) corn.

The nice thing about the farmers market is that you can get to know the farmer, you can ask lots of questions, and the prices are usually way better than for big-label organics at the store.

I second the recommendation for Barbara Kingsolver's book. I also like In Defense of Food for a discussion of what to look for when shopping for food.